In Full View of the Truth
by DobbyLovesSocks
Summary: Albus Severus Potter goes to the library one day, and stumbles upon the Harry Potter books. What starts out as a simple curiosity to read them soon becomes something more. Albus is unhappy and troubled that his father never bothered to mention so many things about his childhood... and some things, Albus wishes he never read in the first place. **DISCONTINUED**
1. Discovery of the Past

**DISCLAIMER- Obviously, I am not J.K. Rowling, and I don't own Harry Potter. If I was and if I did, I wouldn't be on fanfiction, would I?**

"Mum, Dad, I'm going to walk down to the library for a while. I want to look through some new spell books." Albus said, walking into the kitchen where his parents were sitting at the table, talking. Ginny laughed.

"Can't wait to get off to Hogwarts next year, can you?" she asked, ruffling his hair.

"It's only 8 months away! I just want to get a head start on my classes." Harry laughed, and smiled at his son.

"You know, Al," Harry said, grinning. "Sometimes it's hard to believe that you and Aunt Hermione aren't actually related by blood." Albus rolled his eyes.

"So, can I go?"

"Yes, Honey. Just don't start reading while you're still there, once you have your books come straight home."

"Okay. See you!"Albus grabbed his library card out of his mother's purse and raced out the door. Less than ten minutes later, he arrived at the library and walked in. As usual, he walked by the muggle section without a second glance, and walked to the back of the library until he reached a door that said "DO NOT ENTER- CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS". Grinning, Albus ignored the sign and tickled the door right under the handle. He heard a faint click, and it unlocked. Albus walked into the room, and a broad smile spread across his face. This part of the library was blocked off for muggles, filled with spellbooks and other magic related books. He wandered around for a while, flipping through "Quidditch Through the Ages" with mild interest, looking for nothing in particular, until a familiar name caught his eye.  
"Harry Potter"? He wondered aloud. _There's bound to be tons of Harry Potter's in the wizarding world._ Albus convinced himself. Unless... he stifled a gasp. The "P" in Potter was shaped like a lightning bolt, the exact same shape as the scar on his father's forehead. As quickly as he could, Albus grabbed all seven books with his fathers name on the title, and checked to make sure that he hadn't missed any. He was desperate to begin reading them, but, on his mother's instructions, checked the books out and went running home, as fast as he could. When he finally reached his house, he knocked on the door anxiously, hoping that his father wouldn't be the one to let him in.

"Hello, Love", Ginny said cheerfully when he walked in, his arms full of books. "Load of books you've got, there!"

"Merlin's beard, Albus! Did you take the entire bloody library home with you?" Harry asked, winking. Albus looked at his dad, nervous that he would see what he was carrying in his arms.

"Er, I'm going to go start reading. I'll be in my room," he said quickly, and went sprinting out of the room. Once he got to his bedroom, he threw himself down on the bed, and checked to see which book was the first.

"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone." Albus murmured. Without further ado, he began reading.


	2. The Obsession

**DISCLAIMER- I haven't somehow bought Harry Potter since chapter 1. I STILL don't own Harry Potter, or any of the characters, or the books, or any of that!**

Albus eagerly opened the book to chapter one and began reading. He read in complete silence for about twenty-five minutes, occasionally chuckling to himself, or, more often, wincing and glowering at how his father had been treated, and how the Dursleys acted toward him. Albus knew that his father had been treated very badly up until he went to Hogwarts (and even afterwards), but he had never asked for details, and apparently his father never felt reason to give any. He read on and on, page after page, until he reached a part he finally knew the story to. The first time that Harry met Hagrid. Grinning, Albus continued reading, and didn't look up for at least another hour.

"Albus, it's time for dinner. Will you come set the table?" Albus groaned, but obliged. He scarfed down his shepard's pie as fast as he could, and put his plate in the sink, knocking over a glass vase in the process.

"Reparo," his father said calmly, and the vase instantly reformed, good as new. "Why so anxious to get away, Al?" his father asked. "Desperate to get away from your lovely family?" he added with a wink.

"I, um, just want to keep reading those books I got." Albus mumbled. "May I be excused?"

"What if I said no?" his father asked, pulling Albus onto his lap and tickling him.

"Ahhh, please, dad!" Albus shrieked, laughing.

"Fine, fine, go ahead." Albus was just walking out of the room, trying not to show how desperate he was to get back to his book, when he heard his sister calling him.

"What is it, Lily?" he asked, exasperated.

"Can I come read with you? I'm done eating." Albus hesitated. He got this request from his 8 year old sister a lot, and was usually fine with it. But these particular books...

"Later, Lil. I just want to read alone today." Lily pouted, but before she could make any complaints, Albus was gone. He finished the first book quickly, and when he finally closed it after reading the last page, his mouth hung open. Who knew that Aunt Hermione used to be such an obnoxious know-it-all? And that his own dad had actually _fought _Voldemort when he was only a year older than Albus? Still in shock, Albus opened up the second book, and began to read. Before long, he was thoroughly engrossed in the book, and didn't even notice when his parents came in to say goodnight a couple hours later.

"Albus? Al? Hello?" Harry asked, shaking his son's shoulder and grinning.

"I- uh- er- huh?" Albus stuttered. "Oh, hi mum. Hi dad." he quickly stuffed his books under the blankets, and muttered, "I'm as bad as Quirrell." Harry and Ginny exchanged a startled glance.

"What did you say, Al?" Harry asked.

"Nothing. Never mind," he replied and reached up to hug his mother.

"Goodnight, Al," she said, kissing him.

"Night, mum." he reached up and hugged his dad. "Night, dad."

"Night, Albus, sleep tight." As his parents walked out, Albus pulled the books back out from under the covers and continued to read. Partway through chapter 13, Albus's mouth dropped wide open. Harry had just gotten a valentine. Although it wasn't signed, Albus highly suspected that it was from his mother, considering that she had fancied him since they met, and got tongue tied every time she saw him. Now, this wouldn't have come as a huge surprise, if it had said anything else. Trying his hardest not to laugh, Albus grabbed the notebook out from under his bed that he used to write down all of his favorite quotes, and scribbled down the words to the singing valentine.

_His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,__His hair is as dark as a blackboard.__I wish he was mine, he's really divine,__The hero who conquered the Dark Lord_

He would have to say that to his mom one day and see if she reacted, just to make _sure_ that she was the one who sent it.

As the days went on, Albus's interest and curiosity in the books became more of an unhealthy obsession. After school, Albus would lock himself in his room and read, and during meals he would eat as quickly as he could before going back to his room. One night, after he had scraped his remaining steak and kidney pie into the rubbish bin, and was on his way back to his room, a warm hand gripped his arm. Albus spun around in surprise?

"What is it, Lily?" he asked, trying to sound calm. He couldn't help it. Normally, he and his little sister got along quite well, but lately...

"Look, Albus," she said softly. "I know _something _is wrong. You haven't been yourself lately. You've been in your room a lot, and you seem kind of depressed. What's wrong?"  
Albus hesitated. Lily was only eight- would she be as troubled by it? _Troubled by WHAT? _Albus thought to himself. Was it just that his father had left out such seemingly important details of his childhood? There was nothing else there to bother him... or was it that he _knew _that he was better off having never read it? Some of the seemingly entertaining life of his father was really quite disturbing to Albus. He had just begun the fifth book and was terrified of what had happened at the end of the fourth. His father had been made fun of and bullied, but kept pushing on, only to watch his competitor and (sort of) friend die at the hands of his older, much more powerful, enemy. _Do you think that's genetic?_ Albus couldn't help but wonder.

"Al? You still there?" Albus jumped. He hesitated for only a moment before saying, "Yeah, alright Lily, come into my room and I'll show you what's bothering me."

**A./N. Please review this chapter- I know it wasn't great, but I'll try to make up for it in my next one, I promise. And thanks to everyone who is following or favorited this story- it means a lot to me. :) CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM IS ALWAYS WELCOME!  
**


	3. Crying and Quidditch

Suddenly, Albus spun around. He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he had forgotten his parents sitting at the table, in complete earshot of everything he had just said! To his enormous relief, they were deep in conversation about some witch who had nearly broken the Statute of Secrecy by causing her neighbor's cat to start doing an Irish jig, using the Imperius curse. Albus grabbed his sister's hand and dragged her away she would get sucked into the discussion.

Albus took a deep breath.

"Look, Lils," he began. "I know that this sounds absurd, and it also doesn't seem like something to get upset about-" Albus broke off. "You know, how _did _you realize that something was wrong?" Lily smirked.

"You weren't exactly hiding it, Al. Locking yourself in your room all day, not talking to me or mum and dad, spending all your time reading and turning dad down when he asked if you wanted to play Quidditch... Al, mum and dad are getting really worried!"

"Yeah, ok, sorry" Albus mumbled. "Anyway, what's bothering me is this- Those books I got from the library? Yeah, well, they aren't just any books. They're these books called the Harry Potter series-"

"Sorry, WHAT?"

"Yeah, so they're called the Harry Potter series, saying how Dad is a famous wizard who defeated Voldemort as a baby, fought him numerous times throughout his years at Hogwarts, saved his best friend's sister from dying, found Voldemort in the back of some guy's head, had a godfather convicted of murder and... well, just read for yourself. If, you know," he added quickly. "If you think you're old enough, 'cause you're only eight, and some of this stuff is pretty-"

"Oh, come off it," Lily snapped. "You know as well as I do that I'm mature enough. And anyway, this is _Dad_ we're talking about- I have a right to know! Actually..." she said thoughtfully. "Do you think we should send an owl to James at Hogwarts and tell him to read these books? I mean, he has the right to know as much as we do." Albus hesitated. He really didn't want to make a big thing out of this- he wanted to keep it confined between very few people; he had even been wary to let his sister in.

"James will be home for Easter. We can just tell him then. C'mon, Lil, start reading!"

* * *

"Wow, Dad could be a complete _prat _sometimes..."

"_Albus!_ Don't say that!"

"Well read this, Lily, and tell me you don't agree," he said, pushing the book over to Lily. She quickly scanned the few pages before the part her brother wanted her to see so she would understand what was going on, and then responded to her brother.

"Well, he had been cooped up in those _horrible _muggle's house for so long, without any of his friends, and he must have been really lonely! Plus, his friends were _together, _which couldn't be any easier, and he was just feeling misunderstood by everyone!" Lily replied, seeming desperate to find evidence in favor of her father. **(A./N.- bonus points to anyone who can tell me in a review or a PM what part of which book they are referring to!) **

The two children continued reading in silence for a while until Albus felt the bed shaking next to him. He looked up, and saw that Lily was crying silently into her hands.

"Lily! What's wrong?" Albus asked, putting a reassuring arm around his little sister.

"I-I CAN'T B-B-BELIEVE THIS!" she yelled, choking back tears. "What is it? What can't you believe? And quiet your voice a bit, or Mum and Dad will hear you."

"I DON'T C_ARE _IF THEY HEAR ME! THIS IS... IT'S... IT'S ABSOLUTELY _ABSURD! _I CAN'T BELIEVE HE NEVER _TOLD US _THESE THINGS! I CAN'T BELIEVE HE SKIPPED OVER SO MUCH. HE DIDN'T BOTHER TO TELL US _ANYTHING! _HE'S A _FILTHY **LIAR!**"_ Lily screamed furiously. Albus had instinctively snatched back his arm from around Lily's shoulders, and was now staring at his palms as though they were the most fascinating things in the world.

"Lily, shh, i-it's not that bad... well, not _yet _anyways... it actually gets worse, so if you want to stop here..." Suddenly, Ginny burst into the room looking worried.

"What's the matter?" she asked, with a terrified look on her face. "We heard screaming..." Albus shot an irritated look at Lily, but, feeling bad, he quickly scooted closer to his sister, and stretched his arm around her. Neither spoke.

"Umm..."

"Er... uh, you see..." Lily and Albus looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"It was nothing, Mum," Albus said firmly. When Ginny raised her eyebrow suspiciously, Lily stepped in, too.

"We're fine, Mum. Don't worry. Just having some fun." Ginny didn't look totally convinced, but she let it go, kissing both of them, and walking out of the room.

"I'm sorry, Al," Lily said immediately.

"No, it's fine. I completely understand. It's... _scary_ to see all this stuff that Dad hid from us. It's... yeah."

"But I have a question."

"What is it, Lil?"

"Why don't you want to tell Mum and Dad?"

Albus froze. Lily could have asked him any other question in the world, and he would have had a better answer. Why _didn't _he want his parents to know that he knew?

"I-I don't really know, Lily," he finally said.

"Well, I think that we should tell them. It would help- AGGH!" Lily screamed as Albus leaped at her. He had his hands on her shoulders, holding on to them so tightly that Lily doubted a knife could have broken them apart. There was a crazed look in his eyes that Lily had never seen before.

"Promise me. You. Will. NEVER. Tell them." Albus spoke between clenched teeth.

"Y-yes Al. I promise!" Lily squeaked. Albus released his sister.

"Sorry, Lils, I just... yeah. Sorry." Lily grinned.

"It's fine, Allie."

"Don't call me Allie!" Lily giggled, and went back to the first book.

Another hour passed before either of them spoke again. The room was completely silent, until the door opened with a loud creak and Harry walked in.

"Stuff the books under the covers," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth. When Lily just sat there staring, openmouthed, at her father, Albus poked her in the side. "_Now!"_

"Hello, you two. I was wondering where you had run off to," Harry said, grinning at them. "Fancy a game of Quidditch?" Harry said this last bit in the same light, carefree voice he had been using since he walked in, but Albus noticed that his father's eyes flicked over toward him as he said this, and didn't leave him until he exchanged a glance with Lily and answered.

"Yeah, sure, Dad," he replied. "I haven't been out on a broomstick for a while. Do you mean right now?" Albus saw his father visibly relax at his son's response. "Yes, I meant right now. Your mother wants to do boys versus girls, again, Lily." Lily's face broke into a grin.

"No fair, Dad! Mum used to play on the Holyhead Harpies- she was a _professional _Quidditch player!" Albus cried. Harry smiled at the indignant look on his youngest son's face.

"I know, Al, I tried to tell her, but we'll be fine. I'm not too bad at Quidditch myself, you know. I reckon that if we really try, we can knock those women right off their brooms!" Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at Lily. She immediately shot up into the air, dangling by her ankle.

"Agh! Daddy get me down! Please!" Lily shrieked through her laughter. Harry chuckled and, pointing his wand at Lily, let her down without speaking a word **(A./N.- more bonus points if you can tell me the spell and why it was silent!)**.

"Wow, Dad," Albus said. "You've _got _to teach me that one!"

* * *

Albus fell to the ground, breathless and laughing.

"We won, we won!" he yelled happily. Harry picked Albus up and spun him around.

"Great job, Al," he said, letting his son down. "Those was some pretty impressive keeper skills!" Albus grinned.

"Nice job catching the snitch, Dad. That was _awesome! _We won we won we won we won we won we won we won we WON!" Albus yelled, running around their front yard in circles. Lily glared at him.

"You don't need to rub it in," she muttered, but Ginny just laughed.

"Good game, boys," Ginny said. "I'm going to go shower and go to bed." She kissed her husband and Lily and Albus, before walking back inside. Albus yawned.

"Yeah, it's getting late. I'm going to bed, too," he said. And as he walked back into his room and changed into his nightclothes, he realized that, for the first time in nearly a week, the books weren't bothering him. Not at all.

**A./N.- Thank you to everyone who is following this story and reviewed- it keeps me writing! **

**A special thank you to iheartweasleytwins, who, without meaning to, gave me the idea to show Lily's reaction to the books, while she was PMing me.  
**

**Next chapter should be up in a few days!  
**

**-DobbyLovesSocks  
**


	4. Gone

**A./N.- is something belonging to Albus " _Albus' " _or is it " _Albus's_**_ "_**_? _Do you need that extra "s" after the apostrophe? I don't think so... if anyone knows, please tell me!**

**Disclaimer- I'm not J.K. Rowling; haven't we been over this?  
**

**WARNING- MAJOR ORDER OF THE PHEONIX SPOILERS! DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU FINISHED IT!**

As the days went on, Albus tried to master his obsession. Although he still spent more time than usual reading, he also made sure to spend plenty of time with his parents and sister, and even with a few of his Muggle friends. Only then did he realize just how much of his recent life he had devoted to reading. He had forgotten the simple joys in life, such as laughing with family and playing with friends. But still, every night, Albus and Lily would disappear into Albus' room for no less than an hour, usually more, and they would read.

* * *

It was a cold night in January, and Albus and Lily were snuggled under the thick, warm blankets in Albus' bed, each intently reading their respective books. Neither of them spoke, as usual, until Lily suddenly heard gentle sobbing from next to her. But Albus didn't say anything, so Lily ignored it. A few minutes later, the few tears falling down his face had progressed into full fledged crying that racked his whole body. Lily quickly tossed the Chamber of Secrets to the side, and put a hand on her brother's arm.

"Albus? Al? Allykins?" Lily asked, sounding uneasy. Albus tried to glare at her for use of the name "Allykins" but he couldn't manage to stop crying.

"Albus, what's wrong?" she asked. Albus sniffled, and tried to stop the flow of tears from falling down his face.

"S-S-SIRIUS!" he wailed, swiping miserably at the tears on his face.

"Sirius, like, Daddy's godfather?" Lily asked apprehensively. Well, that was the wrong thing to say. Albus collapsed into hysterics, wailing into his pillow, and didn't look up for several minutes. At long last when it seemed like Albus had calmed down, Lily felt it safe to repeat her question.

"Albus? What's wrong?" Albus choked back another round of tears, and managed to get out, "Sirius. He-he died." Lily wasn't sure what to say to this.

"Albus, I-I know it's sad, and, and I don't mean to sound insensitive or anything, b-but, didn't you always know that Sirius died?" Albus shook his head.

"No," he said hoarsely. "Y-you don't get it. I mean, I-I always knew that he died, but... But I never knew how it happened." Lily heard something change in her brother's voice during the last thing he said. He sounded stronger, and more grown up. Unsure whether or not she wanted to hear the answer, Lily asked "So, how did he die?" Albus hesitated. He had always been very protective of his little sister, and if this was enough to make _him, _a ten year old boy, succumb to tears, he was truly afraid that it would tear his sister apart._ Then again, _Albus reasoned, _As long as she doesn't read everything leading up to it, it won't seem _quite _as bad_...After silently debating with himself for a moment, Albus turned to his sister.

"You're sure you want to know?" he asked.

"No," she replied with a shrug, "But I'm going to get there in the books anyway, and I'd rather be prepared. Besides," she added with a sly grin. "I think I can withstand a bit more than you, Al. No offense." Albus rolled his eyes and grinned at his sister.

"You know, Lils," he said. "You're pretty smart for an eight year old." Lily smirked.

"Why thank you, Albus."

"Don't worry, Lils," he added quickly. "I'll deny I ever said it." Lily swatted at her older brother, before craning to see his book.

"Ok, show me what happens."

* * *

"Ok, this is where I started to cry," Albus said simply, pointing to a page.

"Wait, so let me get this straight. So Dad thinks that Sirius is being held at this place in the Ministry of Magic, but he actually _wasn't _being held there, Voldemort was just trying to trick him into thinking that. Oh, and there's some weird veil that they hear voices behind, but no one is there." Lily looked at her brother who nodded his confirmation.

"So they're at the Ministry, and Death Eaters start to attack, and then the rest of the Order of the Phoenix, who are basically the people fighting against Voldemort, come to help Dad and Mom and Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron and Neville and Luna fight, and Sirius comes, and the rest you can read for yourself," Albus explained quickly. Lily picked up the book and began to read. A few minutes later, Lily looked up, her eyes swimming with tears.

"N-no!" she cried, the tears threatening to spill over.

"You can stop here if you'd like," Albus said softly, putting a reassuring arm around his sister.

"Y-you mean there's _more?_" she cried miserably.

"Well... sort of. It's all the way up to..." Albus paused, flipping through the rest of the book. "Page 831. You can actually skip everything in between. There's not much... Well, sort of. And you know you can stop reading here if you want to!" he repeated anxiously, worried that this was too much for his sister to handle. Silently, Lily shook her head and continued to read. About ten minutes later, Albus saw her face freeze, and the tears started to spill out.

"Like the fact that the person Sirius cared most about in the world was you," Lily whispered the tears falling faster and heavier now. "Like the fact that you were coming to regard Sirius as a mixture of father and brother. You know what? I think I've read enough for the night. I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Al." And without another word, Lily walked out of the room, tears still streaming down her face.

**A/N- I think this was one of my better chapters so far- probably the most eventful. And that part in the Order of the Phoenix, the part that Lily read aloud, was the only part in the entire series where I felt like crying my eyes out. I'll try to update again soon- please review! Constructive criticism is welcome!**

**-DobbyLovesSocks  
**

**And DobbysReincarnation- SIRIUS BLACK LIVES!  
**


	5. Secrets

The next night, only Albus, Lily and Ginny were home. Harry was staying late at work to finish up some issues at the Ministry, and James, of course, was at Hogwarts. Lily was lying down on the couch with her head across Ginny's lap, and neither of them were speaking. But it was a calm silence. Relaxed. Albus, on the other hand, felt tense and nervous. He had been staring at the exact same spot on the carpet for about 20 minutes now, and still didn't know what to do. He wanted to keep reading with Lily, but he was worried that after her sudden disappearance last night, she wouldn't want to come back and continue reading. The two of them hadn't spoken all day. _Should I go over there and ask her if she wants to come read? _Albus wondered. He fought inwardly with himself for several minutes, before hearing something. He glanced over at his mom and younger sister, and realized that Lily had broken the silence and started talking to her mother. Although Albus couldn't hear exactly what she was saying from across the room, he could tell that it was serious, and that Lily was talking very quickly. Ginny's face suddenly became white as a sheet. Albus watched as Lily talked on and on, her head still in her mother's lap, Ginny looking at her with a sad little smile on her face, stroking her hair gently. For several minutes Albus just watched the two of them, only hearing quiet murmuring, until he saw Ginny bury her face in her hands and begin to laugh. Lily smirked.

"Ha! I knew it!" she called out triumphantly. Albus walked over to the couch nervously.

"What did you know?" he asked casually, trying to act as if everything was normal between the two of them.

"N-nothing," Lily muttered, averting her eyes. Albus shot his mother a questioning glance, but she merely shook her head. Deciding that the battle was lost, Albus decided to proceed with what he had wanted to do for the past day.

"Look, Lily do you want to-"

"Yeah," she replied sheepishly. The two of them looked at each other and began to laugh. Lily jumped off the couch looking relieved, a bright smile on her face. Just as they were about to leave the room, Lily stopped and ran over to her mom.

"Remember, _don't_ tell him."

"Don't worry sweetie, I won't. We agreed that you can tell him when you're ready."

"Don't- don't tell..." Lily hesitated, and quickly glanced at Albus. "Don't tell _either _of them," she finished, lowering her voice so that she assumed Albus couldn't hear her.

"But doesn't he-"

"Don't say that _I_ said."

"Ohh, right, that. Don't worry, Lilypad, just go have fun," Ginny said, clearly trying to fight back a smile. Albus grabbed his sister's hand and the two of them ran off to Albus's room. Once the two of them were safely in his room with the door closed, Albus felt it was safe to speak.

"So, uh, Lils, what were you talking about with Mum?"

"Oh, you know," Lily answered with a careless wave of her hand. "The usual. School, girl stuff, books-"

"But you said to Mum 'Don't tell him' ...Don't tell me _what?_" Albus demanded.

"Merlin, Albus! Not _everything _is about you! I have a life outside of _you,_ believe it or not!" Lily snapped, sounding uncharacteristically vindictive. But her eyes looked nervous and vulnerable. Albus turned away, hurt.

"Well, sorry," he muttered, not completely meaning it. Lily hesitated for a moment, looking like she wanted to say something else, but in the end just shrugged.

"Whatever... Where's the Chamber of Secrets?" Albus tossed it to her (admittedly a bit harder than he usually would have) and she immediately opened it up and began reading again, without speaking another word to Albus.

"Well okay, then," Albus grumbled to himself, before opening to the end of the Order of the Phoenix. "I suppose _that's _settled." A little under an hour later, when Albus had progressed to the Half-Blood Prince and Lily was almost finished the Chamber of Secrets (neither of them having had spoken since their row), Lily took a deep breath and looked up.

"Do you think we should tell Dad?" she asked suddenly. Albus raised an eyebrow.

"Tell Dad _what?"_ he asked coolly, although he had a pretty good idea of what she meant.

"Tell him... you know, about the books."

"At some point, I suppose."

"Well..." Lily said nervously. "I sort of meant, like, now."

"Dad's at _work _right now, Lily," Albus said harshly, still stinging from her harsh words earlier that evening. Lily groaned.

"Oh, you very well know what I mean! Stop being so literal! I just think we should tell him, okay?"

"No. It's not okay," Albus said, fighting to keep his voice calm. "I'd like to wait, and seeing as I'm older, and _I _was the one who originally found the books, I think I have the right to decide." Lily glared at him.

"But- but, these books are all about him! And, maybe he'd explain the parts we don't understand! And maybe he'd tell us why he never told us in the first place, and-"

"No. I don't c_are_ if they're about him; I understand everything just fine, and I don't care if he didn't tell us because otherwise purple gumballs with fangs would come and _eat us,_ we deserve to know!" Albus cried. In truth, he was very confused about some parts of the book, and he felt awful for yelling at his sister so much, but he couldn't bear it anymore. Albus wanted to tell his parents about these books, so badly that he could barely hold in it sometimes, but he forced himself to keep quiet. Perhaps his father would be angry if they found out. Or worse, he would be sad and embarrassed and break down. Or- and this was Albus's worst fear- Harry would ignore Albus completely, upset that he's found out about Harry's childhood. Finally, unable to bear the constant stress over everything, Albus flipped over onto his stomach and burst into tears. Tears streamed down his pale face, soaking his pillow. He was shaking uncontrollably as all of the fear and anger and stress inside of him built up, making him feel worse than he had ever felt in his life. His body racked with sobs as horrible images of his father acting as though he didn't exist flashed through his head. _BAM._ No Dad at his school concert. _BAM_. No Dad watching him open presents on his birthday. _BAM. _No Dad seeing him off to Hogwarts. At this, Albus started crying harder. Lily lay down next to him and rubbed his back in silence. A few minutes later, Lily took a deep breath.

"Al?" He looked up, tears still trickling down his cheeks.

"D-do you want to know what I was talking about to Mum earlier?" Albus gave a little half shrug. It wasn't bothering him as much now; nothing was, really. He felt numb and emotionless.

"Promise you won't get mad, Al?" Lily asked, sounding afraid. He nodded, a glazed look in his eyes.

"O-Okay. I-I told Mum."

"Told her- t-told her what?"

"I- oh, Albus, I told her about the books!"

**A/N- Dun dun DUNNNN! (that was dramatic music, not a misspelling of the word "done".) You might want to re-read the beginning of this, and the conversation between Lily and Ginny will make more sense. I almost cried writing the part in Albus's mind- Harry would never do that! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Please review, and PLEASE give me constructive criticism! I need it!  
**


	6. Spill It

Albus nearly choked.

"Y- you _what?"_ he exclaimed.

"Oh, Albus, please don't be angry! It was just bothering me so much, and I needed to talk to _someone, _and I knew you would be positively _livid _if I told Dad, so..." Lily cringed, and if afraid that her brother would hit her. Albus took a slow breath and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say a word, Lily was talking again, as if now that she'd started, she couldn't stop.

"And when I told Mum, she was really upset, and kept saying that this wasn't how she wanted us to find out about everything. Oh, and you wanted to know what I was talking about when Mum started laughing and I said 'I knew it!'?" Lily asked. Albus nodded silently, unable to speak. A faint smile played on Lily's face, as she continued to talk.

"Yeah, well, I asked her about a..." the smile on Lily's face widened. "a _special _valentine that Daddy got in his second year at Hogwarts." A grin began to spread across Albus's face as well.

"You mean...?"

Lily grinned and cleared her throat. "His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad, his hair is as dark as a blackboard..."

"I wish he was mine, he's really divine, the hero who conquered the Dark Lord," Albus finished with a smirk. "I had a feeling that that was her! But," Albus continued, the smile immediately fading from his face. "Tell me more about this. I mean, you _promised _you wouldn't tell, and then you go and tell Mum without even mentioning it to me first? That's not cool!"

"Well, what was I supposed to do?" she demanded. "Just go up to you, and be like 'Hey Al, I'm going to go tell Mum everything you made me promise not to tell her, see you later'?"

_She does have a point, _Albus thought.

"No," he retorted, "I would have- I mean, I want- oh, forget it," he grumbled. What he really wanted to say was that he was _glad _that she had told Ginny; it was becoming too much for him to handle alone, without his parents knowing. "Can you go get Mum?" he added. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Because I want to talk to her about all this."

"So, you're not angry at me anymore?" Lily asked hopefully. Albus hesitated. Of course he was still angry that she had done exactly what he had begged her not to do, but, he had to concede that it was for the best. And looking into her wide, brown eyes, he couldn't help but forgive her. He stepped forward and hugged her, holding her tight. Annoy him, she may, but this was _his_ sister, whom he cared about more than anyone else in the world, and he couldn't stay angry at her for long; he never could. Lily threw her arms around her brother, beaming.

"Oh, Albus, I _knew _you wouldn't be _too_ mad, I mean, I knew you'd be mad, but I knew that you'd forgive me, not to say that I did the right thing- well, _I _think I did, but you don't have to, and-"

"Lily?" Albus said mildly. "Do me a favor and shut up." He laughed and pulled his sister closer, stroking her flaming red hair. Lily punched him in the shoulder playfully and spun around.

"Well, come on then, let's go talk to Mum!" she said happily, grabbing his hand and dragging him towards the door. Albus smiled faintly, but in truth he was quite nervous. Now that Ginny knew...

"Wait, Lily!" Albus cried, halfway down the stairs.

"What _is_ it, Albus?"

"Are you still on the second book?"

"Well, yeah," Lily said, looking down at the carpet. "I'm just a slower reader than you!" she added defensively.

"No, no, I don't care how fast you read," Albus said quickly. "Just _don't _mention the second book to Mum."

"Why not?" Lily demanded, looking annoyed. Albus hesitated. He didn't want to ruin the second book for her, but it was crucial that she not tell their mother anything about it.

"Just- trust me," he said desperately. Lily raised an eyebrow and walked into the living room, where Ginny was curled up with a book. She looked up upon hearing voices, and smiled at Albus and Lily.

"Hello, you two."

"Hi, Mum," Lily said brightly. "Enjoying the book?" Ginny nodded, but gave Lily a warning look. "Oh, it's fine," Lily replied, cheerfully. "Albus knows now." Ginny looked at her daughter with a mixture of amusement and exasperation on her face.

"Shocking, Lils. And how did this little piece of information just _happen_ to slip?" Lily put her hands on her hips and glared at her mother.

"I just felt bad, okay? And he was all upset and crying-" With extreme difficulty, Albus restrained from tackling Lily to the ground in fury, and satisfied himself by clenching his hands into fists and jamming his knuckles into his legs.

"Albus?" Ginny interrupted. "Why were you crying?"

"Nothing, no reason," Albus muttered.

"If you want to talk to me about it, Al, you know you can tell me anything," Ginny said quietly, tilting his chin up so he was forced to look at her. Albus's green eyes sparkled with tears, and he sat down on the couch next to his mother.

"Is Daddy going to be angry at me?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "W-will he still love me?" Ginny's own eyes suddenly filled with tears as well.

"Albus, Dad will always, _always_ love you, no matter what. You know that! Reading one little book won't change that."

"There's seven of them, actually," Albus said, but Ginny didn't hear him.

"_I _still love you just as much as ever, now that you know..." her voice suddenly trailed off, and a tear slipped down her cheek.

"Now that we know what, Mum?" Lily asked curiously.

"Now- now that you know it was me," Ginny said, the tears falling faster. Lily looked scared to see her mother in tears.

"_What _was you, Mum? I'm only on Daddy's second year-"

"That's when it happened!" Ginny weeped. She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself. "The Chamber of Secrets- all of the injuries, and those things- it was all me!"

"_What?"_ Lily gasped. "But- I mean- It couldn't have- But you're..."

"It was... the diary. He- he used it to possess me, and... "I'm sorry, I- I just hate thinking about it. I-I could have killed someone!" Lily ran toward her mom and threw her arms around her, crying into her shoulder. The three of them sat there crying, each for their own reasons, for several minutes, until they heard the door open.

"What's wrong? Is everyone okay? Who's hurt?" Harry asked worriedly, running into the room.

"Everyone's fine, Love, don't worry," Ginny replied, laughing weakly.

"No, you're not fine!" Harry snapped. "I'm sorry, but I don't find walking in on my entire family in tears to be 'fine'!"

"_Entire_ family?" Lily asked, giggling through her tears. "I'm telling James you said that!" Harry ignored her, and continued talking. "Something's _clearly _going on here with you lot, and I want to know what it is!" Ginny opened her mouth as if to say something, but closed it again, looking like a fish out of water. "Well?" Harry asked.

"I-I don't know if the time is ripe for you to know, Dear-"

"I have every right you do to know what's so awful it can cause my wife _and _two of my children to succumb to tears! Trust me, I can handle it! I'm fully equipped to-" Harry broke off his rant at the sound of his youngest son laughing. "What are you laughing at, Albus?" he asked, sounding exasperated. Albus hesitated.

"Mum, can I... you know?"

Lily and Ginny exchanged a quick glance, and nodded at him. "Go ahead, otherwise I think he might burst," Ginny said, laughing.

"ThereisthisseriesofbooksIfou ndallaboutyouandyourlifeatHo gwarts," Albus blurted.

"Albus, please talk at a pace that a normal human being can understand," Harry sighed.

"There- there's this book series I found at the library, and- and it's all about you, and uh, your life at Hogwarts and stuff," he said quietly, looking at his feet.

"Sorry?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like, Harry," Ginny said, her voice struggling to keep calm. For the first time, Albus got a good view at the book in his mother's hands- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. She held it up to show her husband, who gasped and stumbled toward the couch in shock. Ginny gently pulled him onto the couch next to her, and put a reassuring hand on his arm.

"How- how far are you?" he asked hoarsely.

"I'm just starting your sixth year and Lily is just finishing up your second year." Harry sat there, looking stunned. Albus wished he would yell, or moan, or do _something _besides just sit there.

"Dad?" he asked tentatively, after a few moments of this awkward silence.

"Well, this certainly isn't the way your mother and I would have chosen for you to find out, but I suppose what's done is done," Harry said, shaking his head sadly. "So _this _is what you were doing, holed up in your room all this time.

"Dad? Can we- I mean to say, are we allowed- er, can we keep reading the books?" Albus asked nervously. "Please? I mean, they're _really _interesting, and we deserve to know, and-" he looked at his father hopefully, his bright green eyes wide. Harry and Ginny exchanged a meaningful look.

"So, these books are just a summary of my life?" Harry asked. "Told from an outsider's point of view?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Albus replied, and Lily nodded emphatically. Harry hesitated for only a moment longer, before agreeing.

"Fine, you may finish them, Albus. Lily, you're going to need to wait a bit; some of this stuff is a bit above your level." Lily pouted.

"I'm a really good reader!" she argued. "My muggle teachers said I read at a 10 year old level, and that's without any magic!" Harry sighed.

"Lils, this isn't about how well you read; it's about _what _you're reading. Albus, I feel, is old enough to know. In a few years, you will be too." Harry squeezed his daughters shoulders and kissed the top of her head.

"Trust me Lils."

So Harry consented to let Albus read the books. But what he didn't realize was that the books were told from an omniscient view. That is to say, the author knew everything that was going on, in Harry's head, and out. And what Harry also didn't realize was that the books recorded everything that had happened to him over the years, even the things that he had shared with no one. Namely, the horcrux that Ron destroyed.

**A/N Sorry if this wasn't a great chapter- I've been busy, but that's no excuse. I just wanted to get something up, so sorry if it's not very good. I'll try to improve it in the future! And I hope you all remember that awful horcrux... and what, exactly, Ron saw. Do you guys think that Albus is old enough and mature enough to appreciate the Ron/Hermione relationship? Or will he just roll his eyes and say "eew!" like most boys his age? And same with Lily? I feel like Albus would be all "Eww!" and Lily would be more "Aww" like all of us Romione shippers. :)Please tell me what you think, (preferably in a review) so I can add that into the next couple chapters!**


End file.
